Fill materials for bronze

Irene Delaveris <irene_delaveris [at] yahoo__com> writes

>I am conserving the bronze sculpture of the heroic General San
>Martin in San Rafael, Mendoza, Argentina at the moment. The base,
>also made of bronze, is in two parts, united with silicon that no
>longer full fills its purpose. I am looking for a material that can
>replace the silicon, something that will adhere to the bronze, be
>elastic and survive in extreme climatic conditions. ...

For this purpose, one may employ any slow curing epoxy adhesive,
such as Araldite Standard. If used for adhering, the epoxy may be
tinted with dry pigments as needed. Where employed for filling, the
adhesive should be bulked out with actual powdered bronze, and be
dusted over with red gold bronzing powder while it is still
tacky--that is, before full cure. Once cured, this surface will
patinate successfully with chemical patination fluids to ensure a
pleasing match with the original. If any of these materials should
be unavailable in Argentina, our institution's mail order department

    <URL:http://www.instituteconservation.org>

will assist with suitably small quantities if requested.

Hazel Botha
Head Conservator
Department of Metals Conservation
The South African Institute for Objects Conservation


                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 22:23
                Distributed: Saturday, October 18, 2008
                       Message Id: cdl-22-23-002
                                  ***